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Goal Thirty-eight:

Goal thirty-eight:

–One day in school you see, not for the first time, a weird-looking kid get shoved by one of the most popular guys in the school. You feel momentarily bad for the him, but the feeling melts away when he stumbles, slips, and hits the floor with a smack!. You can’t help but stifle a snort of laughter–you know you shouldn’t, but come on, he was such a klutz! It was just a little push, after all. The kids around you aren’t bothering to hide their laughter at all. You figure, why should you? When the popular guy trips the already-embarrassed-kid as he was trying to get up, you burst out laughing. It was too funny–right?

Way too often we think that. If everyone else thinks something is, in this case, funny, you play along, even if you know it’s wrong. But is it really that impossible for the laughing-stock to be you, next?

–Suddenly you have a flash-back. You aren’t exactly popular now, but then, you were pretty much like that kid everyone’s laughing at. You were walking down the hall, when the equivalent of this kid’s tormentor stuck his foot in the middle of your path. You go flying, right onto your face. Within seconds, everyone’s laughing and pointing. Looking at this kid again, you turn your head away. Could you really just stand there, laughing?

The answer is, you shouldn’t. You may think, “Hey, no one’s here to tell me not to, and everyone else is doing it. I can get away with it.” But one person does know who cares enough to tell you it isn’t right. Guessed who? You got it–God. If you join in with the crowd, He’s standing up there shaking His head at you. But there’s one thing you can do that would give you a thumbs up:

–You can’t take it any more. You walk to the kid and pull him to his feet. You glare at his tormentor, conveying an obvious message. You’re surprised when he looks away from your gaze. Holding your head high, you walk away, knowing you did the right thing. Everyone disperses, and you notice a few people staring at you. Whether they’re laughing at you on the inside or staring at you in respect, you know only one thing matters: God knows you did the right thing, and you got his approval. What more could you want?

No matter where a situation comes up: at school, in your neighborhood, at work if you have a job, the same thing always applies. Ask God what you need to do, and follow His advice. He’s only going to suggest what’s best for you!